It should be better than this.

8.

The dim light from a single bare bulb cast shadows across the cluttered storage unit, lightly swaying as the breeze from a small, opened window brushed against it. Two dolls sat side by side on the edge of a creaky bed, an uneasy silence hanging heavy between them.

"Throwing Mandy into the washing machine?" Nolan's voice was strained, uncharacteristically confrontational. "Just so you could keep her here, 'perfecting' other dolls?" He knew that the two used to be close, and that their bond slowly deteriorated as time went on, but Mandy never mentioned this part of the story in her retellings. He supposed this was something sensitive to her, which made him more upset at the blond for doing such a thing. "You damaged her vision throwing her into that thing!"

"I know how it sounds, Nolan. And I regret it, I really do." He slumped back on the bed, arms laying over his eyes. "But you must understand, I'm just a prototype. I'm here to ensure perfection in every doll, and Mandy helped towards--"

"Why do you keep on calling yourself that?"

"Calling myself what?" Lou moved his arm to look at the other doll.

"A prototype. It almost sounds like an excuse."

Lou flinched at the accusation as he sat up, trying to gather himself quickly. "Excuse? It's not an excuse, Nolan, It's a fact. Do you really think I wanted to hurt Mandy, o-or Ox or any of the other dolls just for the fun of it?"

Nolan stayed silent.

Desperation began to edge into Lou's voice. "If I didn't do everything in my power to maintain perfection and eliminate imperfection, as I was instructed to do, then I'd be the one being recycled!"

Nolan seemed slightly taken aback, unaware of the possibility that he could be recycled as well.

"...So you were... scared of being disregarded."

"Of course I was scared! What doll isn't?" Lou's voice cracked as he forced the words out. "But I never intended to hurt Mandy as badly as I did. ...I put the washing machine on the lightest settings and made sure the paint was watered down enough to be easily to wash off. But I guess that didn't do much."

The weight of his own actions seemed to press down on Lou even more now that they were being openly discussed. Nolan could see the anguish in his eyes and, despite his anger, felt a wave of sympathy towards him.

"I didn't want to hurt anyone. ...But I didn't want to cease existing either."

The room fell silent, the muffled hustle and bustle of the institute being the only thing heard from the shed. After several moments, Nolan sighed and looked at Lou, his expression softening.

"That was... selfish of you, Lou." The words sounded mean to Nolan, although they were true. "But I'll believe you when you say that you didn't want to hurt anyone."

He hesitantly placed a hand on the doll's shoulder. "You need to apologise to Mandy, though. You owe them that much... And to Ox, Moxy and gang... Uhh..." Nolan began to ponder of anyone he was missing from the list.

"And you think that I can just waltz up and talk to them? They hate me."

...That's probably true, the doll thought with a sigh.

"Whether or not they hate you isn't the point. And I don't know If they'll even accept an apology, but it's at least worth a shot."

Nolan stood up then, facing the other doll who was staring down at his lap, looking like he was mentally recalling the past.

"We'll go together, okay?" Lou glanced up to find a hand before him, gesturing to help him up. The scene almost appeared familiar to the doll.

"...Right."